Introduction:: National and Regional Belonging in Twentieth-Century East Asia

Die Konzepte von Nation und belonging sind entscheidend, um die Geschichte Ostasiens im zwanzigsten Jahrhundert als Periode der Entstehung von Nationen und der Neuverhandlung von Zugehörigkeitsgefühlen zu verstehen. Diskursive Verbindungen zwischen beiden Konzepten können mindestens bis ins neunzehnte Jahrhundert zurückverfolgt werden. Begegnungen mit dem westlichen „Anderen” seit dieser Zeit hatten einen wichtigen Einfluss auf Vorstellungen und Formierungen von Nationalstaaten in Ostasien. Während der Aufstieg des Nationalismus eigentlich nationale Abgrenzung von Nachbarn suggeriert, vereinigten Anti-Kolonialismus und Anti-Imperialismus eine wachsende Zahl von Asiaten im Kampf für Gleichheit und Selbstbestimmung. Dieser Kampf beeinflusste nicht nur die Zwischenkriegszeit, sondern charakterisierte auch die Epoche der Dekolonisation nach 1945. Dementsprechend diente vielen asiatischen Akteuren nicht nur die Nation, sondern auch die supranationale Region als Referenzpunkt für die Ausbildung eines Zugehörigkeitsgefühls. Dieses basierte oft auf kulturellen Elementen wie Religion, Sprache, Werten und Abstammungsmythen. Zahlreiche räumliche Vorstellungen von Kommonalität trugen dementsprechend zur gleichzeitigen Ausbreitung von Nationalismus und Regionalismus bei. Dieser Artikel vermittelt einen Überblick über die Bedeutung der Konzepte von Nation und belonging für die Geschichte Ostasiens im zwanzigsten Jahrhundert und diskutiert theoretische Ansätze, die zum Verständnis des Zusammenhangs der Konzepte dienen. Abschließend stellt er die fünf Fallstudien dieser Ausgabe vor

Techno-economic heat transfer optimization of large scale latent heat energy storage systems in solar thermal power plants

Concentrated solar power plants with integrated storage systems are key technologies for sustainable energy supply systems and reduced anthropogenic CO2-emissions. Developing technologies include direct steam generation in parabolic trough systems, which offer benefits due to higher steam temperatures and, thus, higher electrical efficiencies. However, no large scale energy storage technology is available yet. A promising option is a combined system consisting of a state-of-the art sensible molten salt storage system and a high temperature latent heat thermal energy storage system (LHTESS). This paper discusses the systematic development and optimization of heat transfer structures in LHTESS from a technological and economic point of view. Two evaluation parameters are developed in order to minimize the specific investment costs. First, the specific product costs determine the optimum equipment of the latent heat storage module, i.e. the finned tube. The second parameter reflects the interacting behavior of the LHTESS and the steam turbine during discharge. This behavior is described with a simplified power block model that couples both components

Pose Normalization of Indoor Mapping Datasets Partially Compliant with the Manhattan World Assumption

In this paper, we present a novel pose normalization method for indoor mapping point clouds and triangle meshes that is robust against large fractions of the indoor mapping geometries deviating from an ideal Manhattan World structure. In the case of building structures that contain multiple Manhattan World systems, the dominant Manhattan World structure supported by the largest fraction of geometries is determined and used for alignment. In a first step, a vertical alignment orienting a chosen axis to be orthogonal to horizontal floor and ceiling surfaces is conducted. Subsequently, a rotation around the resulting vertical axis is determined that aligns the dataset horizontally with the coordinate axes. The proposed method is evaluated quantitatively against several publicly available indoor mapping datasets. Our implementation of the proposed procedure along with code for reproducing the evaluation will be made available to the public upon acceptance for publication

Development of a Pre-Competitive Business Model for AI-Based Autonomous Technology Scouting

Technology management can significantly influence the strategic decisions of a company and thus cause success or failure. Basic templates for technology management are technology radars as well as the determination of the technology readiness level (TRL) to be able to evaluate the maturity of newly deployed technologies (e.g., newcomer vs. established). The radars, as well as the TRL, are identified in time- consuming, manual research by subject matter experts from external consultancies. This process is often repeated due to the further development and new development of technologies so that the necessary research becomes an ongoing task. The TechRad research project, therefore, aims to automate the identification of the TRL as well as technology radars using web crawling and Natural Language Processing (NLP). To commercialize the pre-competitive prototype, the development of a pre-competitive business model is the goal of this paper. Based on customer analyses, a target group definition is created. Based on user interviews, the precompetitive business model will be detailed in a four-step approach using a business model canvas and a value proposition canvas